Hello All (any advice for a new Tegu owner?)

[Aardbark]

Hi

Im really serious about getting a spring baby Tegu from Varnyard Herps, but I want to be sure I can make a nice home for her. Do you guys have any information or tips for me? Id like to hear from some of you Tegu experts, hehe. Things like preperation, what would be a good cage, good places to get food, things like that.

I have read a lot of the forums and caresheets and stuff, but there is always stuff that only expirienced people can tell you. So Id love to hear from you.

 

[Rhetoric]

Theres a search bar/button at the top of all the pages, you can search keywords and phrases to find more specific info, there are also pages and pages of info under the different topic sections. Some topics are specific to housing, diet, health, etc.

Some basic info to help start you off:
A good cage size would be a MINIMUM of 6x3x3. I've got a 7.5x5x3.5 and a 7.5x3.5x3.5. Most people on here have built their own cages, lots of info on how to do that under the housing section. If you're lucky you can find something off craigslist or similar site.

Places to get food, the grocery store! lol. Ground turkey, eggs, fish, shrimp, fruits, veggies, chicken, etc.
Rodents from local reptile/pet shops, breed your own, order them on-line. You can also try dubia roaches, lizards seem to love them but they tend to gross people out.

Preparation, I would just make sure you have the enclosure, lights, some food to start with, calcium and vitamin supplement, substrate, hides, termometers and whatever other decorations you might want. I had my males enclosure all put together and ready for a tegu in general not knowing when I was going to get one. Even with it set up there were a few last minute things to get. Make sure you've tested your temps and humidity so when your tegu comes you know it will be successful.


Here are a few links to threads on the forum to get you started.

Choosing the right tegu
http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=7397#axzz1KC7FUJIT

Tegu food
http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=6452#axzz1KC7FUJIT

Recommended bulbs
http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=4854#axzz1KC7FUJIT

Tegus as pets
http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=7372#axzz1KC7FUJIT

General info
http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=7398#axzz1KC7FUJIT

More info on tegus
http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=7371#axzz1KC7FUJIT

Taming
http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=7711#axzz1KC7FUJIT

MBD
http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=7707#axzz1KC7FUJIT

Cleaning cages
http://www.tegutalk.com/showthread.php?tid=2306#axzz1KC7FUJIT

There is a lot more to look through, this just kind of gets you started. Read up on as much as you can and feel free to ask questions.

 

[Toby_H]

To narrow it down to one tip... be sure to keep him/her in a large enough enclosure and do not procrastinate when it's time to upgrade.

 

[Rhetoric]

[size=xx-large]do not procrastinate when it's time to upgrade. [/size]

 

[Aardbark]

Eep. Hehe Im pretty handy with carpentry, so I plan on building a nice big cage for her. But a little baby doesnt need something that big to start off with.

Thank you everyone for the replies, I greatly apretiate your help. I do have two questions. How fast does a Tegu grow, and on avrage, how much a month does it cost to care for one? Food and bedding and stuff.

 

[Rhetoric]

Ehhh it depends on the tegu. They all have different growth rates. If it brumates its first winter than it could very well still be around a 12-18 inches when it wakes up in the spring. However, if it stays up its first winter you could easily end up with a 3ft tegu by spring. Feeding it a proper diet and making sure its getting the right lighting will also help with the growth and overall health of the tegu.

Babys are usually alright in a 40 gallon for a few months, again if it brumates it can last until spring. I would try to plan for either outcome ahead of time, whether its having the enclosure built or having money put aside so you can get one put together when the time comes.

It's hard for me to give a dollar amount for food costs as week or a month, we eat a lot of the same things we feed the tegus (ground turkey, eggs, fish, etc). Sometimes grocery stores (most often albertsons) will have buy one get one free sales on ground turkey, last time that happened we got 6 packages for like $21 or something. Because of they they've had more ground turkey the last couple weeks than fish or chicken. I would just suggest checking out weekly sales ad's at the grocery stores, it only takes a few minutes and you can save some crazy money lol.

For me, the mice/rats seem to be the most expensive, I've now got 3 tegus and the last 2 weeks I've gone through 18-20 mice. One girl eats 3 a week, one eats 2 a week and the male will either eat 4 mice or 3 rat pups.
As a juvie your tegu might be interested in crickets, if it is I'd take advantage of it lol. Crickets are pretty cheap and a decent feeder if you gut load them. I haven't tried crickets recently, I feel like they would need to eat into the hundreds to become satiated lol.

I used to get the bedding from our local reptile shop but the owner showed me how to make my own eco-earth type stuff so I don't spend tons of money. I haven't tried it yet though.. Or I would get the mulch from a barkdust place, it was only like $12-15 to fill my male tegus enclosure. If you go to a bark place just make sure to ask if its treated with anything, don't buy it if its got chemicals and crap added to it.

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I don't know if I've seen anything about the frequency of changing the substrate. I just change it as needed, if it starts getting really stinky, lots of shed pieces, if theres been lots of poop in it (though usually they poop in the water), etc.

 

[Aardbark]

Cool, thanks for the advice.

Lol I forgot to mention what kind I was getting. I want to get a B&W Argintine female. Want her to be as tame and friendly as possible, so I dont know about mice. I guess as long as they arent live fed, it would be ok.